Following your football team has always been very much a tribal thing, often not being able to see any further than your side in whatever situation they may find themselves in, probably best described as a blind passion by some.
People are divided by the colours of the team they support by their thousands for ten months of the year, something that will never change whilst football remains as the country’s largest spectator sport.
Despite those divisions, it has been a refreshing change to see fans, whatever their team’s colours, unite as one in the poignant tributes to Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, both tragically killed in a car accident on the Portuguese-Spanish border in early July.
As you would expect, the tributes from Liverpool and Wolves, Jota’s previous English club, have been emotional and almost personal affairs, such was the affection for the popular Portugal international whose skills and attitude towards the game were respected and adored by fans in their thousands.
It has also been touching to see supporters of rival clubs also pay their own respects in minutes of silence at hundreds of grounds, all impeccably observed.
There are occasions when football can, and often does, bring people together, despite what others may feel.
Another instance of fans being united also involved Liverpool last Friday evening, with Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo allegedly being racially abused by a supporter (and I use the word loosely) who was subsequently removed from Anfield and has since been arrested by police concerning the incident.
The perpetrator of the alleged actions was quickly identified with the help of nearby supporters and stewards, with both sets of supporters in the ground, and those watching in their armchairs at home condemning the individual’s actions strongly.
I find it extremely sad that, despite being in the year 2025, we are still talking about racial abuse, aimed at black footballers who are earning a living doing something they enjoy, whilst entertaining us supporters at the same time.
Despite numerous campaigns by football authorities and anti-racial abuse groups, the problem appears to still be living to a degree in our wonderful game.
The campaigns and punishments that follow any such incident obviously are still not working, as the problem still exists.
I thought Semenyo handled the whole situation in an extremely dignified manner, as did the players and match officials on the evening.
The following day, the player issued a social media statement where he stated that the events of the previous evening would stay with him forever,’ not because of one person’s words, but because of how the entire football family stood together.’
Poignant thoughts and words indeed.
Working together CAN make a difference more often than not.
James Rowe’s Linnets gained their first three-point haul of the season on Saturday with a fine 2-0 win at a hot Hereford.
Both goals were scored by Ross Crane, which will, of course, be pleasing for him as well as his manager.
It’s been mentioned many times before that Crane was used nowhere near enough by Adam Lakeland last season.
Why that was only he will know, but a player who creates, excites and has an eye for goal should always be one of the first names on any team sheet.
Rowe’s post-match thoughts stated that the wideman has been working extremely hard during pre-season and was pleased to see the player gain his rewards in such an eye-catching way.
These are extremely early days in this new season and you just know that Lynn’s new boss will be grounding anyone whose feet begin leaving the ground.
The game at Hereford also saw a few personnel tweaks, with Rowe confirming he had picked his team to play in a certain style that would give them the best chance of winning that particular fixture.
It’s that kind of forward thinking from a manager that hasn’t been seen at the Docherty Walks Stadium since Ian Culverhouse’s stint in the managerial hot seat.
It must be something that unnerves a rival boss, as it would be impossible to give an accurate battle plan against a side that you’re unsure of who you will be facing.
It’s something that Lynn will be able to do over the season, especially when the players become fully aware of each other’s games and full competitive match fitness is achieved.
They also have a big enough squad to manage players’ time on the pitch and rotate what they have.
It may be very early days in the National League North season, but the Linnets are already clocking up the miles travelled and we’re still in August.
On Saturday, it was a trip to the West Country to face Hereford, while Spennymoor and County Durham were last night’s (Tuesday) scheduled destination for Town ahead of a visit to the North West this coming Bank holiday Monday afternoon to face Chorley.
The only home game among the trio is this Saturday’s visit by Darlington to West Norfolk for the club’s second home league game of the season.
Whilst I fully understand the league’s thinking to get some of the long-haul trips completed for teams before the onset of potentially bad winter weather, I feel a 360-mile round trip to Chorley in holiday traffic is somewhat extreme.
Surely a drive to the likes of Alfreton this coming Monday would have made sense, as I’m sure more travelling fans would have been encouraged to support their team a little nearer to home as opposed to six or so hours on the road.
What makes Monday’s schedule even more frustrating is that Lynn does indeed play Alfreton in the next few weeks on, you’ve guessed it, a Saturday afternoon.
You couldn’t make it up and it does make you wonder about the thinking behind these kinds of things.
